My trip to Montana (Yellowstone area) was mainly for flyfishing. But
all trips are also birding trips, of course.

As I was returning home Tuesday, driving west on I-90, I succumbed to
a biological imperative to pull into the Schrag ( at Deal Road) rest stop,
mile marker 198, east of Moses Lake, at about 3PM. This is a relatively
small rest stop, with grass and a couple dozen trees of mixed species (some
with ripe berries). It is located in the middle of relatively flat,
typically arid, agriculture country, mostly brown at this time of year,
that stretches for miles in every direction (particularly north). It is
125 mi due south of the Okanogan mountain area.

As a second thought getting out of the Explorer, I grabbed a pair of binos.
After resolving the biological issue, I looked in the trees. It
was immediately apparent that I had grabbed the wrong binos (10x42). There
was a stupendous number of small, fast moving, passerines moving through
tightly foliated trees, feeding ~frantically~ on a surprising number of
flying and resting bugs. I went back and got the 7x42's!

Here's the improbable mix I saw in about 15 minutes, in the order seen.
For the passerines, there were many of each species:

Varied Thrush
American Robin
Song Sparrow
House Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Wilson's Warbler (several m/f pairs)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Dark-eyed Junco (two flavors)
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Red-tailed Hawk (imm., outside the rest stop boundary)
Northern Harrier (m. adult, ")
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (assumed not Cordilleran)
(probable) Sharp-shinned Hawk (took a Junco -- too fast to pos ID)
Empid sp. (Very busy flycatching from tree tops. ~Prominent~ crown.)
White-crowned Sparrow

And dozens of travelers totally unaware of the colorful spectacle three to
six feet above their heads -- wondering what the dork with the binoculars
was looking at!

Clearly, this little rest stop is an oasis on the migration route south.
I wonder what's there today, and tomorrow, and last week, and next week . .
. .

Oh, yes, I caught (and released) a mess of trout in Montana.

Jerry Blinn


E-mail from: Jerry Blinn

AviSys Web Site: <www.avisys.net>
AviSys EMail: <support at avisys.net>